Chairs with tiltable portions



Dec. 6, 1966 R. GOODMAN 3,290,091

CHAIRS WITH TILTABLE PORTIONS Filed Jan. 14, 1966 INVENTOR ROBERT GOODMAN ATTOR EY United sta at t 3,290,091 CHAIRS WITH TILTABLE PORTIONS Robert Goodman, 5325' Westminster Ave.,

, Philadelphia, Pa. Filed Jan. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 520,721

9 Claims. (Cl. 297-302) This invention relates to chairs wherein either the seat portion or the back rest is mounted for rearward tilting, and it particularly relates to such chairs wherein the tiltable portions are tilted against a flexible biasing. force.

Many different types of chairs with tiltable portions have heretofore" been produced, some of which utilized coil springs, other flat springs and still others torsion bars as the flexible biasing element. However, all these prior devices which were sufliciently sturdy and effective for their intended purpose were unduly complex and involved many interrelated parts. If any one of these parts malfunctioned or broke down, the entire biasing mechanism became inoperative. Furthermore, the cost of producing these" mechanisms was unduly high and added considerably to the total cost of the chair.

Another disadvantage of prior type chairs with tiltable portions was that an excessive amount of the tilting and biasing mechanism depended below theplane of the chair seat and created an unsightly appearance.

It is one object ofthe present invention to overcome the above and other disadvantages of prior type chairs with tiltable portions by providing a chair of such type that utilizes a tilting and biasing assembly which contains relatively few parts and is not only simply constructed but relatively inexpensive to produce.

Another object of the present invention is to provide chairs of the aforesaid type wherein the biasing means is easily adjustable.

Another object of the present invention is to provide chairs of the aforesaid type that are pleasing in total appearance and wherein the tilting and biasing mechanism occupies a minimum of space below the seat portion.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of a tiltable chair embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the biasing assembly used in the chair of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawing wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, there is shown a chair, generally designated 10, comprising a seat portion 12, a back rest 14 connected to the sides of the seat portion. 12 and arm rests 18 extending between the back rest 14 and the seat portion 12.

Connected in any desired manner to the undersurface of the seat portion 12 are a pair of spaced angle irons 20 and 22, one adjacent each side of the seat portion. The vertical portions of the angle irons 20 and 22 are parallel to each other and each angle iron is pivotally supported by rivets or the like, such as shown at 24, that are provided in holes 26 in the opposed parallel side walls 28 of a front bracket 30. This bracket 30 is provided with a central aperture in its bottom wall 32, and through this aperture extends a standard screw spindle 34 mounted 3,290,091 Patented Dec. 6, 1966 'ice on a base 36. A nut 38 secures the spindle 34 to the bracket 30 and a height-adjusting nut 40 is provided on the spindle between the bracket and the base.

The bracket 30 is provided with a front wall 42. The side walls 28 have front extensions 44 projecting forwardly of the wall 42. Each of these front extensions has a straight upper edge. At their rear portions, the side walls are provided with inclined upper edges 46. The extensions 44 serve as stops to limit forward pivoting of the chair portion 12, the straight upper edges of these extensions maintaining the seat portion in a straight horizontal plane. The inclined upper edges 46 serve as stops to limit the rearward pivoting movement of the seat portion, these inclined edges limiting this rearward position to an inclined plane.

Also pivotally secured to the underside of the seat portion 12, in spaced relation to the front bracket 30, is a rear bracket 48. This rear bracket 48 comprises a transverse strip 50 having an upstanding flange 52 at each end. Each flange 52 is provided with an aperture 54 to receive a rivet or the like 56 pivotally connected to the corresponding angle irons 20 and 22 to form a pivotal connection between the bracket 48 and the seat portion 12.

Extending between the brackets 30 and 48 is a fiat spring device 58. Although a single flat spring strip may be used, it is preferred to use a leaf spring, as illustrated, consisting of a plurality of individual leaves. The leaf spring 58 is preferably pre-loaded and its front end rests on the bottom 32 of the bracket 30 while its rear end is connected to the strip 50 of the bracket 48 by means of bolts, rivets or the like, shown at 60.

A tapped hole is provided adjacent one end of the strip 50 of the bracket 48. An adjusting screw 62, having a handle 64 at its lower end, extends through the tapped hole and its upper end bears against the horizontal flange of the angle iron 22.

The leaf spring 58 extends in a flat horizontal plane from front to rear of the seat portion. Because it extends in this direction from front to rear, it absorbs the full tilting force of the chair along its entire length, and thereby provides the maximum amount of spring support. This is of prime importance. It is also important that the spring lies in the flat, horizontal plane because it can be made as wide as desirable to provide the utmost strength without occupying any additional space below the seat portion. In addition, the use of a leaf spring and a simple mouning therefor, such as is here provided, not only holds the cost of production to a minimum but keeps the assembly relatively free of maintenance problems.

The spring tension of the leaf spring 58 is easily adjusted by turning the handle 64 of the screw whereby the bracket 48 is pivoted in one direction to apply additional pressure of the spring as it bears against the bracket 30, and is pivoted in the opposite direction to decrease the pressure of the spring on the bracket 30.

In FIG. 5 there is illustrated an alternative embodiment of the invention that comprises a chair, generally designated 100, that includes a seat portion 102 rigidly connected, as by screws 104 or the like, to a front bracket 106 that is, in turn, mounted on a screw spindle 108 in the ordinary manner.

Connected to the bottom wall of the bracket 106, as by means of a rivet 110 or the like, is one end of a leaf spring 112. The opposite end of the leaf spring 112 bears on a lateral flange-114 of a bracket portion 116 integral with an upstanding back rest 118 that is only partially shown but which is of standard construction.v

The bracket portion 116 has an inclined upper edge 120 at its forward end, and is pivotally connected at 122 to ears 124. With such construction, when rearward pres- 3 sure is applied against the back rest 118, the bracket portion 116 pivots at 122, against the bias of the spring 112, until stopped by the abutment of the edge 120 against the underside of the seat portion 102.

In order to adjust the biasing tension of the spring 112, an adjusting screw 126 threadedly extends through a tapped hole in the flange 114 and bears against the underside of the corresponding end of the spring.

Obviously, many modifications of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

The invention claimed is:

1. A chair comprising a base, a spindle on said base, a first bracket mounted on said spindle, a seat portion mounted on said first bracket, a second bracket pivotally connected to the underside of said seat portion, said brackets being spaced from each other from front to rear of said seat portion, a flat spring means extending between said first and second brackets, an adjusting means to adjust the biasing tension of said spring means.

2. The chair of claim 1 wherein said first bracket is connected to said seat portion by a pivotal connection.

3. The chair of claim 1 wherein said first bracket is rigidly connected to said seat portion, and said second bracket is provided with a back-rest portion thatis pivotally movable with said second bracket.

4. The chair of claim 1 wherein said spring means is a leaf spring having a plurality of leaves.

5. The chair of claim 1 wherein said spring means is positioned in a fiat plane that is substantially parallel to o the plane of said seat portion.

6. The chair of claim 1 wherein said adjusting means is a screw member threadedly connected to said second bracket.

7. The chair of claim 6 wherein said screw member bears against a bearing means on said seat portion and is constructed and arranged to move said second bracket around its pivot upon being threadedly rotated.

8. The chair of claim 6 wherein said screw member bears against one end portion of said spring means to move said end portion relative to said second. bracket upon threaded rotation of said screw member.

9. The chair of claim 1 wherein said first bracket is pivotally connected to said chair portion and is provided with a front stop means having a straight upper edge and a rear stop means having a downwardly inclined upper edge.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,313,559 3/1943 Larsen et a1. 297-302 2,456,797 12/1948 Sheldrick 297-301 2,545,950 3/1951 Fox 297-303 X 2,818,911 1/1958 Syak 297-303 X 3,111,343 11/1963 Pearson 297-306 3,136,580 6/ 1964 Parrott 297-304 FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

G. O. FINCH, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CHAIR COMPRISING A BASE, A SPINDLE ON SAID BASE, A FIRST BRACKET MOUNTED ON SAID SPINDLE, A SEAT PORTION MOUNTED ON SAID FIRST BRACKET, A SECOND BRACKET PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID SEAT PORTION, SAID BRACKETS BEING SPACED FROM EACH OTHER FROM FRONT TO REAR OF SAID SEAT PORTION, A FLAT SPRING MEANS EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND BRACKETS, AN ADJUSTING MEANS TO ADJUST THE BIASING TENSION OF SAID SPRING MEANS. 